I saw this picture on facebook today.
I agree with what it says.
If you are on welfare, then you should be able to prove that you are living according to a set list of standards.
I have personally seen so many people that live successfully off the system. Need more money? Have another kid. Pretend to look for a job and just let the checks roll in.
Take the benefits and buy crap.
Take the money and buy smokes, booze, and drugs.
I serve in the military and I am required to meet stringent requirements just so that those who don’t want to work can get a free ride and live however they want. Now, I know that I do what I do voluntarily. But this irks me that my money is paying for things that it shouldn’t be buying.
Well, I thought “Why doesn’t someone do something about this”. Everyone wants to talk on facebook about how it needs fixed but no one does anything about it. Well, I wondered how hard it would be to actually DO something.
So, I looked up the basics of submitting an idea to become law. I found the following article.
Building a Bill in Congress
As soon as you start working with the United States Congress, you begin hearing about this bill or that bill. It’s as if someone named Bill is everywhere in Washington. In the congressional context, a bill is simply a proposal, an idea, that’s written up in legislation and presented to the Congress.
Starting with an idea
It all starts with an idea, a simple concept. You take that idea to your representative or senator because you see a need, you have a cause, and you want it to become a law.
Remember that only members of Congress can propose resolutions that are considered by the entire body. Your task comes down to convincing a member to actually want to introduce your idea.
Anyone can write up, or draft a bill, but only a member of Congress can introduce it. However, the more work that you do for members, the easier it is for them to work on your behalf. When you have a bill that you want Congress to consider, writing it up in legal language and presenting it to your representative or senator as a draft is a good idea. Lobbyists routinely draft legislative proposals.
Figuring out how to write a bill is easy. Just look up an existing bill on the congressional Web site and follow that format to compose your proposal. Although your representative may make a few changes, he and the staff won’t have to do as much work creating the bill by themselves.
Looking at the types of legislation
Several kinds of bills can be introduced and each one has a special designation.
Bill
The bill is the most common form of legislation. It’s an idea, a proposal, and in the House it receives the designation H.R. for House of Representatives (not House Resolution as many people think). In the Senate it gets S. for Senate. A bill becomes law when it’s approved by both the House and Senate and reaches the president’s desk for signature. After it’s signed by the president, it’s no longer called a bill, but becomes an “Act.”
Resolution
A resolution is much the same as a bill, except that it’s usually concerned with the operation of the House or Senate. In other words, it’s about something that concerns only the institution and doesn’t need to be signed by the president. In the House, such a resolution is designated H. Res. and gets a number, and in the Senate, it becomes S. Res.
Joint resolution
A joint resolution is virtually identical to a bill. Contrary to what one would expect given the name, it can be proposed in either the House or the Senate and it goes through the same procedures as a bill and must be signed into law by the president.
One slight difference between a bill and a joint resolution is that a joint resolution frequently has a preamble, a paragraph explaining the justification for the bill with all the “Whereas” resolving clauses that are a feature of legislative language. Joint resolutions are also used to amend bills already under consideration. A joint resolution gets the designation H.J.Res. in the House and S.J.Res. in the Senate.
The only time a joint resolution differs in its procedure for consideration is when it’s an amendment to the Constitution. Then it has to be approved by two-thirds of both houses to pass, and it’s also sent to the states for ratification rather than being signed (or not) by the president.
So, all I have to do is write up what change I want to see. Submit it to a congressman, and ask that it be presented for legislation. Possibly get 10,000 signatures. And push it to people in the communities. It can’t be that difficult.
With the recent rise of the Tea Party and the strong pushes for general conservitism, people might actually get behind a few of these ideas.
The big one that I would want to push is Mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients. After that, maybe move on to the term limits for elected officials. George Washington, our greatest leader of all time, knew that leaching off of the system was a bad thing. He stressed against it. Be it welfare, career politicians, or any general sort of government sponsored tyrany.
Could I write a bill to weed out the druggies? Sure. Will I? Possibly. I’m actually looking in to it now.
The government is by the people and for the people. They aren’t our protectors or our parents.
Last I checked, each of us reading this are one of the people. There is no reason we can’t try and make positive change.
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Oh, and just a small note… I made the banner myself. Nothing fancy, but it was my first trip in to photo editing.
Twitching with Rage 